Jul. 31, 2008
The Last First Day!
Recently my 16 year old daughter, Carolyn, came to me and said "Mom, I'm going to have my last first day of high school soon." Where have the years gone? December 1990, Carolyn was conceived in Sydney, Montana. We joke about the tumble I took down the stairs in our rented house as I was trying to get my 4 year old son Daniel to the bathroom (so sound asleep that it didn't even register that he had already had an accident). As we never used birth control, we laughed about the tumble bouncing things around so that we could conceive again.We headed back to the farm in Minnesota so that we could be close to family. Just as I had been with Daniel, I was desperately sick with this pregnancy. The local hospital staff and I were on a first name basis. I rolled a car on Father's Day and had an ultrasound to check the baby. The ultrasound showed nothing wrong with the baby, but alerted us to the fact that I was also the proud parent of numerous gall stones. Now we had to contend with the 24 hour morning sickness as well as the gall stones that would soon start to act up, I believe, because of the accident. July came along and after being in the hospital for several days on constant pain medication, the decision was made to remove the gall bladder. I, naively, thought that they would also do a c-section to take the baby as well. I knew that it was early (8 weeks), but I honestly did not think they could do the surgery without the c-section. Not only did they not take her, but did a tubal ligation when they removed my gall bladder. We had previously decided on the tubal ligation because of my severe morning sickness when pregnant resulting in my mother-in-law having almost complete care of our son. After surgery, I was on meds to suppress contractions. Labor day 1991, I was once again so sick that my mother-in-law took me to the hospital late that afternoon. They admitted me once again and after being hooked up to my IV and put into my room, my mother-in-law left for home via my sister-in-law's house. Ten minutes after she left between 5 and 6 o'clock, while laying in bed, I felt this flooding sensation.  I had not felt that in my first pregnancy because I was in hard labor and zoned out when my water broke. But that is another story. I called the nurse to let them know and, after what seemed an eternity and several calls to the nurse's station, they came and determined that I was indeed in labor on Labor Day!I frantically started calling home to get David to come. No answer at home, no answer at his sister's house!  I finally called our pastor's house and told our pastor's wife, Kathy. She rushed out to the farm, told David and, from what I hear, would have jumped in the shower with him as he cleaned up from the pig pen if he hadn't hurried. David thought that because it had been twelve hours of labor with our son it would be that long with this one. Was he wrong! He and Mom got to the hospital and came to the birthing room. Things progressed very quickly. I started to feel the urge to push and called the nurse. She was sure that I wasn't dialated enough, but checked anyway. She then started coaching me in breathing through contractions as she informed me that Dr. Yelle was not in the building. Panic set in, but Dr. Yelle arrived and at 9:42pm we delivered this beautiful, 6lb 12oz girl. The first and only granddaughter for David's parents.  September 2, 1991 was the first last day that I would have with Carolyn. So many first last days would follow. As I type today, I am determined that this last year with the daughter who holds my heart will be a good year full of many shared experiences and much love and laughter. I want to chronicle Carolyn's life this year as I think back on those first last days. I only wish that, like DandelionSeeds, I had realized the importance of those first last days and events in both of my children's lives while they were still young. |
Mar. 6, 2008
Pray for Travis
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We all know that we should be praying for one another. We also know that we should be praying for our young men and women serving in the military. As a navy mom, I know the importance of praying for His protection when my son is deployed to other parts of the world. Sad to say that I haven't stopped to think of how much our men and women need prayer when they return from combat. Yesterday, I was speaking to an employee of one of our customers in our trucking business. Sharon and I were visiting because I was having some trouble viewing an attachment to an invoice that I had uploaded to an invoice. I would download it back to my computer to see how it looked and would get some weird pictures with it. One picture was of Mike Huckabee, which led to a conversation on politics and ultimately to the Iraq war. Sharon shared the fact that both of her sons were veterans. One, Travis, had served two terms in Iraq and had, in fact, been in Fallujah during the worst of that operation. He had seen many of his buddies die and still wakes up with nightmares. He has had a difficult time and has not sought any counseling or help of any kind. He was sinking deeper into the crutch of alcohol, so much so that his friends were contemplating an intervention. I shared her pain as she spoke of Travis and let her know that I was also a military mom. I asked her to give my appreciation to both of her sons for their service. I then asked her if I could have her son's name so that I could place him on my prayer list. She began to tear up and shared with me that she had told Travis that people cared and he needed God's help with the problems that he is experiencing. I spoke to her of the need for him to lay everything at the feet of Jesus and to place his hand in God's hand thus allowing God to walk with him. I know that without God's hand in his life, Travis will never learn to deal with these problems. Sharon plans to tell Travis that a complete stranger and her church heard of his ordeal and is praying for him. I have committed to lifting Travis up before the Lord. Won't you join me? Father, Please forgive me for not realizing that our military men and women not only need our prayer for your hedge of protection, but also need us to pray for their physical, emotional and spiritual healing. I lift Travis up to you right now, asking you to reveal to him Your love and grace. Help him to realize that he can only find true peace when he is in right relationship with You and lays these heavy burdens at the feet of Your Precious Son, Jesus. Father, in the name of Jesus, I bind the spirit of alcohol in his life. Reveal to Travis the New Wine that is so much more effective than anything we can consume physically. Father, I ask that you send into Travis's life Godly counselors who can work with him and help him to learn how to put things behind, not forgetting which is impossible humanly, but putting them into perspective. Help him to find a way to honor You and his lost buddies by living his life and not throwing it away. Father, help me to speak to Sharon as a friend and pray with her and for her as she carries the burden of a mother's heavy heart for a child of her womb. |
Oct. 23, 2007
Why God!
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I have been so busy since returning home from Texas and trying so hard to come to terms with the death of Daddy. It has taken so long to catch up on all the paperwork for the trucks and so much work to get my store open. The work has been hindered by constant thoughts of Daddy and all the time lost when I could not visit in Texas. Regrets, anger, sorrow all mingle together. Tears are often very near to the surface, yet refuse to fall. I must not cry because I feel that if I start I will never stop. Regrets I can begin to deal with as I remind myself of the difficulty and expense of traveling when we did not have the funds anyway. I called instead. But then I also remind myself of the money that was wasted on things that we may not have needed, but wanted for ourselves and our children. That money could have been set aside for travel money instead. (Note to self - try to stop wasting money). Anger is a harder thing to deal with. The only hope is to trust that God will be faithful in helping me let go. I am reminding myself that anger hurts no one but myself. I am not ranting and raving mad, just sadly angry over a situation that I cannot change. How do you get beyond a hospice worker looking you in the face and saying you must take the word "overdose" out of your vocabulary? What did she mean? Did they intentionally overdose Daddy to "put him out of his misery?" How do you get beyond a stepmother, whom you thought loved you, writing a will with your dad leaving all the family land to herself and writing the will two weeks before he dies in hospice care? God help me to release this to you and remember that You are in control of all situations and ultimately everything is done to glorify You. Help me to continue to love my stepmother, in spite of hurt feelings. Sorrow and grief are the hardest of all the emotions. I know that God brings comfort, I just cannot feel it right now. The emotions are too raw. How can I help my son and daughter deal with their grief when I am having such a hard time dealing with my own. My only solace right now has been the week that our son was home from his 6 month deployment. Just seeing him and having him here to hug and talk to brought some peace and joy at a time when I so desperately needed it. Today, I opened the doors to my new store for the first time. I was relieved to finally have it open and was looking forward to one more thing to help occupy my time. Excitement was in the air. I called my sister-in-law to check on how she was because they had called in hospice recently for Mark (Pray for Mark). My niece answered the telephone. When I asked her how she was she told me not very good. I knew before I asked that Mark had passed away. At 12:30 pm (CST) Mark Nichols, my brother-in-law, friend and the love of Candi's life left this world to pass into eternity. Why God, do I have to deal with so much sorrow and grief in so short a time? I know that You assure me that you do not allow anymore than we can bear to be placed on our plate so to speak, but just how much is too much? How strong do we have to be? I called my son and the raw grief in his voice was the hardest thing bear. Uncle Mark was his trapping and fishing teacher and buddy. It is so hard for him and my daughter to lose both a Grandfather and a beloved Uncle in less than a month. It is even harder to think of my niece and her children left fatherless and grandfatherless at such young ages. My children at least are 16 and 20. My nieces oldest child is not even a teenager and the baby is only 3. Please, love your family today for there may not be a tomorrow. Hold each other close and thank our Heavenly Father for each moment that you have. The question "why" will always remain with me, but ultimately I know that the answer is not so important as trusting God to ease the pain of wanting to know why. I also know that God is faithful and true. He is the comforter to the widow and the fatherless. He is the only one who can give peace and still a troubled heart. He is the only one who can say to us, "The why is not important. I am still in control and still sitting here interceding on your behalf. Did I not say that I would send you a comforter? Be still and know that I am GOD!" |
Oct. 4, 2007
Life is sometimes hard!
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This past week has been extremely hard. We have known for quite some time that we would eventually lose my dad to emphysema. He smoked all his life (at least as long as I can remember) and had suffered with his lungs inability to take in enough oxygen for a number of years. After watching his older brother die from emphysema ( which would have been enough to make me quit smoking), he refused to go on oxygen because he believed that going on oxygen was what killed my uncle. He waited until it was really too late to finally consent to oxygen. This summer the doctor put him on oxygen and told him that he believed that daddy had, at best, a year to live. Within two months they called in hospice and within two weeks of starting hospice, Daddy was gone. The decision was made last weekend for me to start coming home (to Texas) every other weekend to spend time with Daddy. My first trip was to have been the weekend of October 13th. The day after that decision was made, I was told that I better come the weekend of Sept. 30th. I made plane reservations and called to inform my family of the itinerary. I was then told to come immediately. I changed my flight to Wednesday of last week. I arrived at Daddy's bedside on Wednesday afternoon and on Friday afternoon, less than 48 hours after my arrival, we stood by Daddy's side as he drew his last breath. I don't think that Daddy ever recognized me although he did respond when I told him that I loved him. Watching Daddy go was the hardest thing that I have ever done in the 48 years that I have been on the earth. Although I am thankful that he is no longer suffering for breath, I miss him so greatly. Even though our family had its share of ups and downs, knock down and drag out fights, and general dysfunction that so often occurs, I never quit loving Daddy. The love that you have for a parent transcends all the problems and ultimately wins out over strife. On top of all the heartbreak and grief that I have only just begun to feel, was the added burden of walking on tiptoes trying not to offend my stepmother as we planned a service that she did not want but we so desperately needed. Because of that, the time that I needed to start my grieving was postponed as my sisters and I spent a long 36 hours doing everything that needed to be done. On Friday night after Daddy died, I could not sleep so I sat by myself and wrote the following letter: Dear Daddy, How do I say goodbye to someone whom I have known and loved, literally, from the day I was born? What a birthday present that must have seemed to you when Jan and I appeared on that day you turned 25! I know that I always proudly let everyone know that I shared my birthday with my daddy! I have so many memories to hold dear and I know that they will flood my mind in the days to come. Remember when you coached Little League? I remember going to practice and standing on the sidelines watching. Whenever you would get on to the boys about their batting, you would always look and tell them, "Nan can hit better than you can!" You would let me have a turn at bat. Of course, I couldn't do any better, but I tried to and it made me feel as if I could. I, also, remember you coming home from work after a long, hot day laying brick. You would get cleaned up and sit in your recliner to watch the news on TV. Of course you always fell asleep and when we thought you were sound enough asleep we would get up to change the channel. You would always wake up and make us change it back because "you weren't sleeping, you were just resting your eyes." I guess the most important memory and the best gift that you ever gave me was a deep love for family. While our family has certainly had our share of hard times and misunderstandings, we have come out of those times loving each other and still able to say, " We are family and that is what is important!" I have been blessed, Daddy, more than words can say. You were Daddy to me, Papa to Daniel and Carolyn, but most of all you were and still are the precious gift that was given to me on the day that I was born. Rest easy now and tell Granny and Papa that I look forward to seeing them when I get there. Your loving, PeeWeekins Love and enjoy your family while they are here, because you never know when that day will come when you, too. will have to spend time doing the hardest thing you ever have to do, saying Goodbye! |
Sep. 8, 2007
Pray for Mark
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Sometimes it is so hard to understand how we can be so blessed and still suffer. My sister-in-law, who diligently prays for the salvation of her household, in particular her husband and grown daughter, has been abundantly blessed through the years in so many ways. She has a family that adores her, a faithful husband, and, most importantly, an intimate relationship with our Lord. She does not lack for anything that is necessary in life. She lives in the small home in which her husband was born and drives a used car instead of buying a new one. She is a very good steward of all that God has entrusted her with. In fact, I envy her frugality. Even so life has become one trial after another for my wonderful sister-in-law. Her husband had to retire from the railroad about a year ago because of a bad back from the years of abuse doing hard manual labor. He had to go on disability, which strained the budget until a settlement could be reached with the railroad. He had to have surgery on his back, which was very painful. Through all of this, Candi, continued to be diligent in praying for not just his physical healing, but his acceptance of Christ. She also became more frugal. After recovering from the surgery, he continued to have pain in his back and then began to lose weight for no apparent reason. The reason became clear after visiting with the doctors earlier this year. He was diagnosed with stomach and esophageal cancer. The cancer had affected a large portion of his stomach and most of his esophagus. It was determined to be a very bad form of cancer that does not have a very good prognosis usually. Treatments had to be decided on and begun. It was decided that he would undergo chemo and radiation first before surgery. If the chemo and radiation did not at least stagnate the growth of the cancer, then there would be no surgery. Through all of this, she continued to pray for his salvation and healing, and counted every day a blessing from God. God honored her prayer by ensuring that he remained healthy during the time that his immune system was depressed because of the chemo and radiation. They were even blessed by being able to take some fishing trips after he was finished with treatments and waiting for his body to recuperate and be ready for the next step. Things were beginning to look up for them as the chemo and radiation were successful in accomplishing what the doctors wanted. Surgery was scheduled. The evening before the surgery, he was in his room in the Mayo clinic. They were anticipating a successful, but complicated surgery to remove a large portion of the stomach and most of the esophagus, and then reattach what remained of the stomach to what remained of the esophagus. They were looking forward to the time when he could be cancer-free and they could get back to a normal life. That night he had a seizure. They immediately canceled the surgery and began to do tests to determine the cause of the seizure. He had two brain tumors, a large one and a small one. Chemo was not an option for the brain tumors and neither was surgery. They also determined that surgery was no longer an option for the stomach and esophagus either. Whole brain radiation was the only option. The decision was made! Even though the risks of whole brain radiation were great, the option of none was worse. Still she diligently prayed and counted every day an even greater gift than before. He went through the treatment. Not only did the treatment rid his brain of the small tumor and almost completely rid him of the large tumor, there was no active tumor in the stomach or esophagus and no damage to the brain from the treatment. We praised our Great God for this gift. This was just on Tuesday. Candi prayed a prayer of thanksgiving. Then came Wednesday. A CAT scan was done. Now the cancer had spread to his liver and some lymph nodes, I think, in the stomach. It has not been determined what, if any, treatment will be continued at this time. She still prays. How can we be so blessed in so many ways and still suffer like this? The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Pray he doesn't steal the most important thing Candi has at this time, God's peace and joy. God never promised us an easy time. He never promised us a life with no hardship or sorrow. He did promise us eternal life in Christ Jesus. That is the promise on which we stand. That is the hope we have for Candi's family. Please pray for my sister-in-law and her family as they deal with this terrible cancer that no one should ever have to deal with. Pray for the healing hand of our Lord to be upon Mark's body. Pray every action, every word, every thought be Christ inspired and a testament to the goodness of God. Through it all may He be glorified and lifted up. |
Aug. 23, 2007
Trusting in Him
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This summer has been a busy summer. I have not only been busy keeping books for my husband's business, but also working to settle our home that we purchased in March. On top of that I entered into a partnership with my sister-in-law. She is a partner in a store that consigns work for local artists as well as showcases the altered art jewelry, candles, cards and other crafts that she and I make. We registered our business name and sell our inventory at cost from our business to the other business. Our business also pays half the bills for her other business. Evidently her partner in the other business is upset because I am not a working consignor paying a percentage to that business. She does not understand the concept of partners very well. We tried to explain to her that if I am a partner in the business from which my sister-in-law gets her inventory then I am not a consignor and that if we were to give her a percentage then she would actually be taking money from her partner. My sister-in-law has not been very happy in the partnership, which just started this spring, because of many factors. She pays half of the bills and does most of the work in the business. Because of this we have prayerfully contemplated finding a spot for ourselves and working to extricate ourselves from the other party. With this in mind, yesterday my husband had me call about an ad in the paper that said "FREE STORE DISPLAYS!" (emphasis mine). I wondered why, but called anyway. The lady that had the displays told me that she wanted to get them out of her way as she had changed her mind about opening a store because rents are so high. She was giving them away at 5 pm to the first person who could get them loaded and out of her way. We went to look at them and as I was pulling up my husband already had them loaded. It wasn't even 5 yet. So here we sat today with 3 big, free displays that needed some TLC. We were at my sister-in-law's house at lunch and my husband noticed an ad in the paper for a 1000 sq foot space for rent for $475 a month, which is cheap in this area. We decided to call and go look at the spot. It turned out to be quite nice, with great potential. It has 4 rooms that can be used for sales and office. I can already envision the sales areas. We gave the owner a deposit and find out tomorrow if we have the space, after he runs a credit check. He told us that he had others who were coming to look tomorrow, so we got there first. I left my sister-in-law's this afternoon, after gathering up all the jewelry that we had been pricing (we just received a large shipment of market jewelry that we bought). We had been wondering where we were going to be able to display it all for sale. Now we just have the problem of not enough display cabinets and shelves. Off to the Habitat for Humanity store to check to see if they have anything suitable. Wonder of wonders, (not really, it had to be God), I found a really cool waterbed headboard that has a big center mirror and shelves on the sides. It was only $15. We plan to sand, paint and weather it, add a center shelf in front of the mirror, and make a unique display for some of our homespun items. I also found two saloon type swinging doors for $2 each that we can hang and display western items. Next two sets of white hinged, louvered closets doors that we plan to paint and weather to hang windchimes, spinners, and other items on. Cost for the two, $30. I left feeling blessed and confident that we had made a start. I then went around the corner to another store to look at two huge displays that I had seen sitting outside for a long time. I wasn't going to get them because they needed work, but I went inside the antique store to look to see if he had anything else. I came away after spending $60 on two spiral staircase, wrought iron plant stands that were really neat and on which I could envision pottery sitting. I also came away with the two displays that I was not going to buy, two more swinging doors, some shelving for the storage area, an old guitar case to display items in, and five nice outdoor lawn chairs that need some TLC, (cushions), ALL FOR FREE! The owner told me to please take all of it off his hands. He had been leaving it outside hoping that someone would want it. No one would even steal any of it! It isn't enough yet, but for a little over $100, I got 5 big displays, the headboard, all the doors, shelves, and plant stands. Habitat also has glass for shelving for $2 a five foot piece. I may get some of it. God is so funny sometimes. I would never on my own have gone ahead and taken 3 big displays to store until sometime in the future when we might find a reasonably priced storefront. My husband would, of course, because he did. But it strikes me as humorous that God would provide displays the day before He showed my husband an ad in the paper for a storefront. Please pray for this business venture of mine called CELEBRATION CREATIONS. |
Aug. 8, 2007
Praise and Honor to Him!
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This is my comment to Dandelion Seeds "Praise Him..." post on August 7th. May you be free in your worship because of her post and this comment. Although praise and worship are a personal thing between the individual and God, there are many passages in the Bible concerning praise and worship that can shed some light on the subject. Psalm 63:1-5 says: O GOD, You are my God, earnestly will I seek You; my inner self thirsts for You, my flesh longs and is faint for You, in a dry and weary land where no water is. So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary to see Your power and Your glory. Because Your loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. So will I bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My whole being shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. (Amplified) This seemingly indicates that David believed that the raising of the hands was appropriate in this instance of praise. Psalm 66:1-4 says: MAKE A joyful noise unto God, all the earth; Sing forth the honor and glory of His name; make His praise glorious! Say to God, How awesome and fearfully glorious are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power shall Your enemies submit themselves to You [with feigned and reluctant obedience]. All the earth shall bow down to You and sing [praises] to You; they shall praise Your name in song. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! (Amplified) David indicates in this passage that at times it is appropriate to worship on your knees. Some select verses from Psalm 68 (which is long so I will only pick a few) tell us: 3But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. 4Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him. (KJV) 24They have seen thy goings, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary. 25The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels. 26Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel. David suggests here that we are to be exceedingly joyful, (which indicates emotion), but also orderly. Psalm 92:1-3 says: IT IS A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD, AND TO SING PRAISES UNTO THY NAME, O MOST HIGH: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound. (KJV) Here we are told that the harp has a solemn sound. Psalm 95: 1-6 - O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. This Psalm indicates that there is a time for a joyful noise and a time to worship and bow down. Lastly Psalm 134 says: Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, which by night stand in the house of the LORD. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD. The LORD that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion. This commands us to stand in the sanctuary and lift our hands to bless the Lord. As I said, praise and worship are very personal and individual. There is a time for corporate praise. How you praise and worship is up to you. There are times that God commands us to "lift our hands". Ultimately, we should never be ashamed to honor God with our praise. We should never let our fear of what others might think, hinder our obedience to Him if He prompts us to praise in a way that is not the same as everyone around us. We should be orderly and respectful in our praise and worship, but at the same time we should also be free from the hindrances of the world. May each of us praise Him in whatever way He prompts us, so that His name is lifted high and exalted above every name. Whether this is by standing quietly and soberly, lifting your hands, bowing your knee or falling prostrate before Him, the ultimate goal is to exalt Him! |
Jul. 26, 2007
Spiritual Warfare and a Cool Drink of Water
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This summer in Grand Junction, Colorado has been hotter than normal. Not record breaking, but hot. The 4th of July we were 105 degrees and have had many 100+ days so far. Being hot like this wears on the body much like spiritual warfare wears on the spirit. The weariness of the heat reminds me of how the spirit becomes weary when bombarded by Satan's attacks. Satan tries so hard to beat us down in so many areas. If your finances are good, then he attacks your family life. If your family life is good, he attacks your health. If your health is good, he attacks your finances. I think you get the picture. The Bible reminds us that Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10 (New King James Version) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,[a] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 (New King James Version) If we stop reading after the first sentence of John 10:10 things look pretty discouraging. For if we have an adversary that seeks to steal (our finances, health, happiness, joy, faith, etc., etc.), kill and destroy and we wrestle against principalities, powers, the rulers of darkness, and spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places, what chance do we have to escape the weariness of this oppressive heat? Who can possibly escape to an oasis and drink the cool water that is so refreshing in the midst of a heat wave? Read on to the second half of John 10:10. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. Jesus is that long, cool drink of water that refreshes our souls in the midst of the heat wave. Read John 4:10. Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." John 4:10 (New King James Version) Come drink today of the Living Water, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. If you happen to chance upon this blog today and have not accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, I pray that you don't let another day go by without making that decision. If you do, you will be refreshed and know the joy that comes with fully accepting the Lord's will for your life. The water is for all who will receive. It is a free gift from your Heavenly Father. Here is all that is required: The "Romans Road" to Salvation The ROMANS ROAD is a pathway you can walk. It is a group of bible verses from the book of Romans in the New Testament. If you walk down this road you will end up understanding how to be saved. Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." We all have sin in our hearts. We all were born with sin. We were born under the power of sin's control. Admit that you are a sinner. Romans 6:23a "...The wages of sin is death..." Sin has an ending. It results in death. We all face physical death, which is a result of sin. But a worse death is spiritual death that alienates us from God, and will last for all eternity. The Bible does plainly teach that there is a place called the Lake of Fire where lost people will be in torment forever. It is the place where people end up that remain spiritually dead. Understand that you deserve death for your sin. Romans 6:23b "...But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Salvation is a free gift from God to you! We can't earn this gift, but we must reach out and receive it. Ask God to forgive you and save you. Romans 5:8 "God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us!" When Jesus died on the cross He paid sin's penalty. He paid the cosmic price for all sin, and when He took all the sins of the world on Himself on the cross, He bought us out of slavery to sin and death! The only condition is that we believe in Him and what He has done for us, understanding that we are now joined with Him, and that He is our life. Because He loved us and gave Himself for us! Give your life to God... His love poured out in Jesus on the cross is your only hope to have forgiveness and change. His love bought you out of being a slave to sin. His love is what saves you. Not religion, or church membership. God loves you! And reaches you right where you are. Romans 10:13 "Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved!" Call out to God in the name of Jesus! Romans 10:9,10 "...If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation." If you know that God is knocking on your heart door, ask Him to come into your heart. Jesus said, Revelation 3:20a "Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him..." Is Jesus knocking on your heart's door? Believe in Him. Ask Him to come in to your heart by faith, and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Open the bible to the gospel of John and read what God says about Jesus, about you, and about being born again. God will help you. He loves you. You need to look for a local church where God's word is preached. The bible says that we are to desire God's word like a newborn baby desires mother's milk. Aren't you hungry to know the truth? Water baptism is one of the ways you first show that you have been joined to Jesus. The symbolism is this: When you go down in the water you show that You have been crucified and buried with Him, And when you come up out of the water you show that you have been raised to walk with Him in newness of life. (See Romans chapter 6) You have been born again. (See John chapter 3) Your body has become God's temple. Your heart is where He lives. Forgiveness is yours in Jesus. And you belong to Him. You were sin's slave. But now...You are a child of GOD! John 1:12 "As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name! Father, I ask you to use this blog to draw people to you who are searching and ready to make that change. Touch hearts today. |